Footnote 4: Pringle’s reply to Sims has not been found. However, American destroyers did have instructions on this matter from VAdm. Lewis Bayly, R.N. Bayly addressed arriving destroyer captains in May regarding their priorities, warning them against stopping to assist survivors of a submarine attack. He allowed that if “you thoroughly explore the area, and feel sure you are in no danger, it is permissible to pick them up,” but stressed that “you must not risk the lives of your crew to save a few others.” Their first priority was to sink enemy submarines, then to bring their convoys in safely, and finally to “save lives if you can.” Pursuing the submarine therefore took precedence over rescuing survivors. See: Address by Bayly to Captains, 26 May 1917.